Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to put forward additional safeguards in relation to anti-social behaviour orders; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 7 December 2005 (WA 100), when they intend to publish their evaluation of anti-social behaviour orders; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 7 December 2005 (WA 100), whether they are conducting research on the reasons for any inappropriate issuing of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) and the issuing of ASBOs with inappropriate conditions.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The findings of the evaluation of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) will be published shortly. The Home Office's comprehensive guidance on ASBOs, issued jointly with the Youth Justice Board and the Association of Chief Police Officers, is being updated and will be published shortly.
	It has been produced following consultation with expert practitioners and key organisations. Practitioners can also access information provided by the TOGETHER campaign in the form of a website, an extensive range of leaflets and a telephone action line offering advice on all aspects of anti-social behaviour.
	The legislation allows for the terms of an ASBO to be varied or for the order itself to be discharged if circumstances warrant it. It is worth noting that every order is made by a court of law sitting in public and that the court has considered both that the statutory conditions for making the order were fulfilled and that the prohibitions were necessary for the protection of victims, witnesses and the wider community. None the less, we monitor ASBOs and their use on an ongoing basis and adjust policy in response.
	We will continue to build on that and extend existing ASBO legislation as appropriate; for example, we recently announced that we would seek to put on a statutory footing the existing good practice, as set out in our comprehensive guidance, that juveniles' ASBOs should be reviewed after one year.

Army: Bowman Radio System

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	By what date they expect all units of the British Army to be fully equipped with the Bowman radio system.

Lord Drayson: The Bowman radio system will be received only by units who require it for overseas operations or training purposes.
	On current plans, regular Army units due to receive Bowman will be fully equipped by the end of 2007 and equipment and training upgrades will continue until late 2008. It is planned that Territorial Army units due to receive Bowman will be fully equipped during 2008 and their conversion training will continue to late 2009.

Army: Royal Irish Regiment

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the average payment, in addition to the statutory redundancy and pension entitlement, due to be paid to full-time members of the Royal Irish Regiment home service battalions.

Lord Drayson: In addition to the normal Armed Forces occupational redundancy and resettlement package, full-time members of the Royal Irish Regiment home service battalions will receive a tax-free, flat-rate ex gratia payment of £28,000.

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether a person would have a claim to British overseas citizenship under Article 6(1) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 in the following circumstances (a) he was born before 30 June 1976 and acquired citizenship of the United Kingdom and colonies under Section 4 or 5 of the British Nationality Act 1948; (b) he was also a citizen of Nepal solely by virtue of descent; (c) immediately before 1 January 1983, he did not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom under Section 2 of the Immigration Act 1971; (d) on 1 January 1983, he acquired British Dependent Territories citizenship under Section 23 of the British Nationality Act 1981 because of a connection to Hong Kong; (e) before reaching the age of 21 he took no steps to renounce his British nationality; (f) immediately before 1 July 1997 he was a British Dependent Territories citizen and if it had not been for his connection with Hong Kong he would not have been such a citizen; (g) prior to 1 July 1997 he failed to acquire the status of British national (overseas) and he has never held any other citizenship or nationality other than those described in (a), (b) and (d) above; and (h) he has, because he is unaware that he ceased to be a citizen of Nepal by virtue of (e) above, mistakenly held or is holding a passport issued by the Kingdom of Nepal.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Yes, based on current understanding of Nepalese citizenship law. However, because the person still holds a Nepalese passport, we would normally require written confirmation from the Nepalese authorities that he was not, in fact, a Nepalese citizen before formally acknowledging the claim to British overseas citizenship.

Compensation: Miscarriages of Justice

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to reduce compensation for victims of miscarriages of justice; if so, why; and with effect from which date.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: On 24 April the then Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement, which was laid in the House, setting out changes to the schemes for compensating miscarriages of justice. Some of the changes had immediate effect; others would require legislation. The main purposes of these changes, which continue to meet our international obligations, are to bring about a better balance with the compensation paid to victims of crime, to make the system simpler and fairer, and to ensure that applications are settled much more quickly than in the past.

Iraq: British Casualties

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the names, ages and, where appropriate, the regiments, of those military and civilian British forces who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since the commencement of the recent conflicts in those countries. [HL6043 ]
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Lord Drayson: Information on fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan is published and updated regularly on the Ministry of Defence website at www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/defencenews.

Iraq: Veterans

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why a soldier who had received severe spinal injuries in the Iraq war was warned by an official of the Ministry of Defence, through his solicitor, Hilary Meredith, of "consequences in medical treatment" for commenting publicly on major failures in the care system for Iraq veterans; whether any apology has since been made to her client; and whether they are considering taking any other action.

Lord Drayson: I can reassure the noble Lord that no such warning was given. The Ministry of Defence press office returned a call from the lawyer to discuss in principle whether her client, who had been injured in Iraq, could appear on a television programme.
	The press office advised that there were two issues of which the lawyer should be aware: first, the policy that all serving service personnel must seek approval from their chain of command before engaging with the media and, secondly, our policy that service personnel undergoing medical treatment must receive consent from their doctor in advance because, in certain circumstances, there could be adverse consequences for their recovery, for example by reliving traumatic experiences in an interview.
	The explanation of this policy, which is designed to protect patients from media intrusion where it could impact adversely on their recovery, appears to have been completely misconstrued by the lawyer as a threat that there would be consequences for her client's treatment if he spoke to the media.
	These facts were explained in full and in advance to the journalist responsible for the "Dispatches" documentary but did not find their way into either the programme or the pre-publicity newspaper reports that preceded it.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the continuing military presence and road blocks in the West Bank by the Government of Israel is compatible with international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations since 1967.

Lord Triesman: Under the 1994 Oslo accords, Israel has security responsibility of areas B and C of the West Bank. Israel has a right to protect its citizens from terrorist attack but it also has a duty to ensure that the effect of its security measures on the Palestinian population is minimised. We will continue to raise this concern at all levels with the Israeli Government.
	The territory beyond the green line which Israel occupied in June 1967 is occupied territory. UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967), which the UK supported, calls for the,
	"withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict, the termination of all claims of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force".
	We continue to urge Israel to act in accordance with international law.
	We are concerned about the additional movement restrictions in the West Bank and the crossing points between Gaza and Israel. It is important that access and movement are improved, and we call on both parties to implement the 15 November agreement on movement and access.

Land Registry

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Statement by the Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 28 March (WS 68), in what way the Land Registry system varies from that used for the single farm payment such that the Government can set the Land Registry a target to process 98.5 per cent of registrations without error.

Lord Rooker: The principles of the two systems are similar in that both organisations digitise to a scale of 1:2500 in the rural area. The underlying data in both cases are Ordnance Survey mapping.

MRSA

Lord Colwyn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to investigate the National Health Service rapid review panel recommendation that the use of silver yarn fabric can significantly reduce or eliminate deaths from methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection.

Lord Warner: Although a silver yarn fibre was submitted to the rapid review panel, it was outside its remit because it was not a new or novel product. There is, as yet, no evidence that modifying fabrics by impregnating them with antibacterials or by other treatments has any impact on the rate of hospital-acquired infection, including methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus.

NHS: Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On how many occasions in the past two years Ministers from the Department of Health have met the chair of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health; and what issues were discussed.

Lord Warner: Ministers from the Department of Health have met the chair of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) seven times since March 2004. Issues discussed pertained to patient and public involvement in health, as well as the running of the CPPIH.

NHS: Cost of Treatments

Lord Colwyn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In the last three years for which information is available, what was the total cost to the National Health Service of (a) drugs used in the hospital service; (b) drugs used in general practice; (c) homeopathic remedies used in the hospital service; and (d) homeopathic remedies used in general practice.

Lord Warner: The following tables show the total England cost to the National Health Service for:
	
		Drugs used in the hospital service -- Hospital service
		
			 Year out-turn £million 
			 2002–03 2,013 
			 2003–04 2,311 
			 2004–05 2,638 
		
	
	Notes on drug spend: hospital service expenditure on drugs includes medical gases.
	
		Drugs used in general practice -- General practice
		
			 Year out-turn £million 
			 2002–03 6,342 
			 2003–04 6.960 
			 2004–05 7,370 
		
	
	Source:
	Prescription Pricing Division, England. The total actual cost of drugs and appliances prescribed by GPs/nurses within England plus any central budget expenditure or locally authorised payments
	General practice figures include pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS) receipt savings.
	Decisions on the commissioning of complementary and alternative therapies, including homoeopathy, on the NHS are a matter for primary care trusts and local NHS service providers. The Government consider that decision-making on individual clinical interventions, whether conventional, or complementary or alternative treatments, is a local matter. There are, therefore, no centrally held records of NHS referrals for homoeopathic treatment.

NHS: Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What were the conclusions of the equality impact assessment carried out under the terms of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 on the decision to cancel the bulk subscription for the provision of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin; what consultation took place as part of that assessment; and whether they will publish that assessment.

Lord Warner: There was no requirement to carry out an equality impact assessment in this context.

NHS: Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin

Lord Turnberg: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Department of Health has decided not to renew the contract for the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin to be supplied to National Health Service doctors; and
	Whether the Department of Health assessed the value to prescribing doctors, and the possible savings to the National Health Service, of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin before deciding not to renew the contract for this publication.

Lord Warner: The decision not to renew the Department of Health's national contract for distribution of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin was informed by our policy to devolve as much responsibility as possible to the National Health Service and to look very critically at central spending. It is our policy that central spending should be kept to an absolute minimum to maximise the resources available for the NHS to manage at local level.
	The decision also took account of the availability of other sources of medicines information. They include the British National Formulary; National Prescribing Centre information and advice, which include coverage of new medicines; National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guidance; the wealth of information available through the National Library for Health; and various academic and professional journals. NHS prescribers also have access to advice from the network of local drugs and therapeutics committees and prescribing advisers.

Prisoners: Records

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the police national computer holds information on where a person is serving a custodial sentence; and whether the Home Office has online access to this information.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Information on where an individual is serving a custodial sentence is not routinely recorded on the police national computer (PNC). When the Home Office, the police service or other authorised parties wish to obtain the current location of a prisoner, they apply to the prisoner location service (PLS), operated by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Information on the PLS is updated on a 24-hourly basis. The PLS currently deals with 160,000 inquiries per year, 100,000 of which come from the police.